1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to head wear and more particular to the adaptation of a wide brim to a sports cap.
2. General Background
Sports caps are generally constructed with a soft head covering portion and semiflexible bill extending outwardly from the wearer's brow to shield the wearer from bright light on the eyes. Such caps usually have some means of headband adjustment to allow for snug fit. Sports caps often reflect the sport or endeavor the wearer participates in, is associated with or favors, by its colors or embroidered emblems emblazoned on the cap. Most wearers have a number of such caps which they favor highly and wear to meet specific occasions. Such caps, while being very efficient in their intended purpose, were not intended to protect the wearer from sunburn about the ears and neck area or allow for air circulation around the neck and head. Therefore, wide brim hats are preferred for such purposes. However, wide brim hats are generally more expensive, bulky, have a tendency to lose their shape and do not, as a rule, represent the often wide interests of the wearer. A great many sports caps have been disclosed which provide a shield attached to the rear portion of a sports cap for covering the wearer's neck as is demonstrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,121,507, 5,448,778, and design patents 340,796 and 337,645. Such cap attachments block the sun but also block any breezes as well, thereby increasing head temperature.
Ideally the wearer needs flexibility to convert a special interest cap to a wide brim hat at will and as the situation requires. For example, a cap can be worn to an event and then converted to a wide brim hat when the wearer is subjected to bright sun light and then removed when in more shaded conditions. An attempt has been made to provide a cap which is convertible to a wide brim hat as disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,548,846. However, this disclosure does not provide for interchangeability of sports caps with a wide brim and requires the wide brim to be folded and concealed within the cap, thereby making the cap hot and heavy.